Tag: Termination of Employment

Benefits Canada Publishes an Article by Thomas Agnew on Liability in Mass Terminations

Hicks Morley’s Thomas Agnew authored an article in Benefits Canada titled “Court Decision Warns Employers About Financial Liability in Mass Terminations.” Employers should proceed carefully when it comes to mass terminations. A recent court decision in Ontario found the employer’s failure to comply with the Employment Standards Act’s technical posting requirement for mass terminations meant that the notice of termination given prior to the date of the posting was void, exposing the company to potentially significant liability for that period.

Appellate Court Finds Employee Entitled to Bonus Which Vested after the End of the Notice Period

· 6 min read

In Bain v. UBS Securities Canada Inc., the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a lower court decision which awarded an employee who was dismissed without cause in February 2013 his bonus entitlements for 2012 and the first three months of 2013, as well as for the 18-month notice period. David Bain worked for UBS as…

HRTO Finds No Discrimination Where Use of Medical Marijuana at Worksite Breached Zero Tolerance Policy

· 4 min read

In Aitchison v L & L Painting and Decorating Ltd., the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) found that an employer did not discriminate against the applicant when his employment was terminated for smoking marijuana while at work, which was contrary to the employer’s “zero tolerance” policy. The applicant was employed as a seasonal painter…

Ontario Court of Appeal Rules (Again) on the Enforceability of an ESA-Only Termination Clause

· 4 min read

The Ontario Court of Appeal has once again considered a minimum entitlements clause in an employment contract and ruled it to be generally enforceable. In Nemeth v Hatch Ltd., an employee with 19 years service was dismissed with 8 weeks’ notice of termination and 19.42 weeks’ salary as severance pay, as well as continued benefits…

Court of Appeal Considers Continuity of Employment Where Employer Purchased Some Assets of Former Employer

· 3 min read

In Krishnamoorthy v. Olympus Canada Inc., the Ontario Court of Appeal recently considered the issue of continuity of an employee’s employment following the sale of a business, and in particular, where the sale of business involves the acquisition of only some of the vendor company’s assets. The plaintiff, Krishnamoorthy, became employed with Carsen Group in…

Appellate Court Rules that Severability Clause Can’t Save a Partly Flawed ESA-Only Termination Clause

· 5 min read

It is critical for all employers to ensure that they have a well-drafted and unambiguous termination clause which fully complies with the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), in order to survive judicial scrutiny. The Ontario Court of Appeal has once again weighed in on termination provisions in employment agreements, this time noting that if any…

Benefits Canada Publishes an Article by Thomas Agnew on Termination in Employment Contracts

Hicks Morley’s Thomas Agnew authored an article in Benefits Canada titled “Employers Given Mixed Messages on Termination in Employment Contracts.” Employment contracts often contain clauses limiting an employee’s entitlement upon termination to the minimum entitlements under the Employment Standards Act or any other amount the employer and employee have agreed to. However, if the clauses violate the act in any way, courts may not enforce them.

Employees on LTD Not Automatically Entitled to Continued Employment for Purposes of Maintaining Group Benefits Coverage

· 3 min read

In a recent decision, Corporation of the Township of Langley v. Canada Union of Public Employees, Local 403, the British Columbia Labour Relations Board set aside and ordered the reconsideration of an arbitration decision in which the Arbitrator had ruled that terminations of several employees on long-term disability (LTD) was discriminatory. Each of the terminated…